Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Bishop Tobin's response last week to the weakest branch on the Kennedy family tree was right on the mark...Kennedy speaks, and his assistants remove his foot from his mouth so he can continue with the next sentence. What I don't understand is why Patty boy still calls himself a Catholic? Does he think he can't change his religion?

The Congressboy talking about healthcare is like the pope talking about sex. Neither one practices their subjects.

Does Representative Kennedy possibly think that the Bishop could stay silent concerning tax dollars being allocated for the killing of the most vulnerable and inocent in our society, the preborn? What did he expect? If Representative Kennedy considers himself to be a faithful catholic, he should be ashamed of himself for his comments, and he should immediately disavow his Catholic faith. Shameful and sinful behavior, to say the least. Any health care proposal that allows for taxpayer funing of the murder of innocent, pre-born children of God should be defeated. Thank God we have Bishop Tobin and many others to speak out in opposition to such disgraceful legislation.

Whatever happened to the seperation of church and state?

Liz,
Like most liberals, your knowledge of the Constitution is underwhelming.
The church is free to speak out on issues. The Constitution says the state shall not "impose" any religion on its people. Imposing and opining are the key words here.
Get it?

The IRS needs to look into the Bishop butting into politics and revoke the church's tax free status. Then he can speak all he wants but first he has to pay his admission fee like anyone else...

Response to Liz: Nowhere does it say separation of church and state. It's says no establishment by the state of a particular religion--forcing you, for example, to be an atheist when you believe in God and His commandments. Oh, that's right, the state is forcing atheism as the state religion. God is not welcome; in fact, He is considered an enemy.

Thank goodness for leaders like Congressman Kennedy, who fights for a woman's right to choose. It's nobody's business except the woman's-period.

The church seems to be putting one of it's doctrines ahead of the welfare fo the vast majority of people by taking this stand. I support Rep. Kennedy's comments, and believe it is the Church that needs to compromise. I do, however, of course support the right of the Bishop to say whatever he wants. I find it interesting that when the Bishop says something the government doesn't like, nothing will happen to him; when a government official says something the Church doesn't like, they are threatened with ex-communication. Who is the tolerant one?

Beautiful PRO choice. We need to protect our altar servers and not worry about the abortion issue!!!!!

Liz - Tobin can speak out, kennedy (another do nothing nut case) and any other TAX payer just shouldn't listen. Church pays no taxes therefore what they say doesn't matter. Tobin also sticks up for ILLEGALS and spoke with the Gov. The Gov was wise enough to not listen, get it!

Re Pro choice
I totally agree, you have the right to choose to do whatever you want to do but you must pay for it yourself with your own money, and live with the consequences.

If someone murders a pregnant woman, they can be charged with two murders. If we respect the unborn in this instance, we must respect the right to life in every instance.

Pro Choice? Really? Are you serious? The father of the embryo doesn't have a say? So you won't be asking for child support if you don't have the abortion, right?

Why doesn't Patrick just excommunicate himself, so then he can pander to everyone under the sun, to keep himself in office?

It's nice that these 2 mature adults are opening a dialogue. There is not enough of that in our society. People take one side of an issue and are completely unwilling to discuss the matter any further. I'm not a fan of the Catholic Church but I respect Bishop Tobin for extending the olive branch to Congressman Kennedy. Maybe the rest of us can follow their example.

Patrick will be seriously intellectually out matched. Maybe his handlers could just issue a statement instead. Maybe the Bishop should bring some blocks, or legos to the meeting.

Great, then you can "choose" to pay for an abortion using your own money without expecting me to pay for it.

If government is going to take my money, than I most definitely will have a say in how it is spent.

Ever hear of "No Taxation Without Representation"?

Craig:

Excommunication isn't a threat; it's the natural consequence of openly denying one's faith. To say a bishop threatens a Catholic with excommunication is like saying I am threatening you with a broken toe when you drop a 100-lb weight on it. Excommunication, like the broken toe in this example, is a result of one’s own actions.

to all of you kennedy lovers out there,you need to understand he comes from a long line of politicians.second of all who does the bishop think he is ? does the church pay tax on their property,do they pay tax on anything the church purchases?? does the church help pay for the up bringing of the children that are born to unwed mothers,who have children who don't know who their fathers are? the bishop and the church should bow out of anything to do with abortion issues!this country has enough problems to deal with,this subject should not be one of them.stop,stop,stop,and to all you bleeding hearts out there who are against abortion,all i have to say is that,because of this type of general consensus the tax payers are caring for more welfare babies than we can afford,causing the financial problem not only RHODE ISLAND faces ,but the whole country. ""WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES"",I LIKE THE CHURCH LIKE ANYONE ELSE BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!

Who does this Bishop think he is? This is Patrick Kennedy. Patrick is trying to save us all. The Catholic Church needs to get with the times and start accepting abortion as reality. With Universal Health Care every one gets Free Care and nobody pays for it except the rich people who have to pay taxes.

For once it would be nice to see that the Catholic Church keeps their nose out of business. They put their two sense in to often!!!

I am a Catholic. I believe women should have freedom of choice. I also believe the choice needs to be made before the egg is fertilized, not after.

Patrick Kennedy seems a bit immature in his way of thinking. I can't imagine a true Catholic completely disregarding the reality of abortion, which is that it always results in the death of an innocent human being. For those of you who criticize the Catholic Church for whatever reason, be advised that it is a leader in all types of charity work for the poor. The world would be a much crueler place if it were not for the dedicated Catholic workers, mostly volunteers and religious as well as other religious organizations. So, stop knocking them.